Aditya Thackeray : Maharashtra to Focus on Eco- tourism

Minister for Tourism & Environment, Govt. of Maharashtra, Shri. Aditya Thackeray on 17th Dec 2020 said that Maharashtra said that the region would see a major boost in tourism in the post-COVID era.

Addressing an interactive session, Mr. Thackeray said that tourism can be revived with a two-way approach, one to promote the destination and another by creating a destination and establishing a local industry around it.

He further said that the Government of Maharashtra  is working on ecotourism aided by sustainable goals, adding “We have to divide the tourism experience into formal and informal experience.''

To encourage the tourist vibe, it is important to keep the tourists engaged, which needs larger connectivity. “We have funds allocated but it needs to be used wisely,” said Mr. Thackeray.

Mr. Thackeray said in terms of tourism and hospitality, a major boost has been given to the sector in the past month.

The Maharashtra government has rejuvenated the state’s tourism sector with a focus on local heritage, culture, and history. “We have everything in Maharashtra,” he said.

The Sahyadri, white beaches and the state’s tiger sanctuary continues to attract wildlife lovers and the growing number of visitors also highlights the eco-tourism potential.

Elaborating on the government's future initiatives he said, it is important to narrate the history of Maharashtra to the tourists through its valuable heritage. “Historical monuments like the BMC building, the High Court and Wankhede Stadium will be open for day tourists,” he said.

“I firmly believe that the travel-tourism-hospitality sector will generate major revenue and employment opportunities in the post-Covid-19 world,” said Mr. Thackeray.

Ms. Valsa Nair Singh, Principal Secretary, Enquiry Officer, GAD, Civil Aviation & Excise and Tourism & Cultural Affair, Government of Maharashtra said that since the COVID-19 pandemic the hospitality and tourism industry has been working very closely with the government of Maharashtra.

She further mentioned that the Government of Maharashtra is taking compact steps to boost infrastructure development and ease of doing business by reducing the number of licenses required from seventy to ten and soon this will be reduced to only one license.

she added - “Infrastructure status has been granted to the hospitality industry effective from 2021 to further boost this segment and seven MTDC properties in key tourist destinations will soon be available for private investment” .

She said, the State is also working on separate policies for development of Agro tourism, horticulture tourism, adventure tourism, caravan tourism, beach shacks and vacation homes. She further stated that cricket tourism and Bollywood tourism are also being developed as part of experiential tourism and the department is also working on a mobile app that will be handy for all tourists visiting the state.